Winter Storm Fern, one of the biggest storms to hit the United States in years, has caused havoc for travellers in large parts of the country.
With heavy snow, sleet and ice conditions battering the US, air travel has been significantly impacted. According to flight tracking service FlightAware, 11,615 flights within, into or out of the US on Sunday were cancelled, with another 6,154 flights delayed. And thousands more services are predicted to be grounded on Monday (local time), with 5,489 flights already cancelled within the US and another 6,991 delayed.
In its latest update, Delta Air Lines says “through Jan. 27 travel to/from/through these airports may be impacted: ATL, BOS, EWR, JFK, LGA”.
On X, it states that “as weather permits, we’re resuming flights where it’s safe to do so”.
“Freezing temps in ATL and lingering weather in the Northeast may affect flights Monday morning,” it added in an update Sunday (local time).
At American Airlines, teams “are working around the clock to safely ramp up operations across our network in the wake of Winter Storm Fern”.
“Five of our nine hubs have been significantly impacted by this large and disruptive storm,” American’s Chief Customer Officer Heather Garboden said in a note to customers.
“Our largest hub at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), which touches a significant number of the flights we operate each day, was hit particularly hard with record-setting conditions.
“Fern is also impacting cities that don’t typically have the infrastructure in place to manage these conditions, which in turn has led to staffing issues as team members plus vendor and federal partners struggle to make their way on the roads.”
United Airlines has told flyers that it has removed “most change fees” for flights, warning of a long list of affected airports in the Eastern and Southern US.
For Eastern US flights, United says on its website that “you can reschedule your trip and we’ll waive change fees and fare differences”.
“But, your new flight must be a United flight departing between January 21, 2026 and February 2, 2026 [January 29, 2026 for Southern US flights]. Tickets must be in the same cabin and between the same cities as originally booked.”
But the storm isn’t just disrupting air travel where the storm has hit hardest – that is, in the south and east of the nation.
According to FlightAware, more than 200 flights were cancelled at Los Angeles Airport in the 24 hours up to 10am Monday (local time). Another seven were cancelled at Hollywood Burbank Airport, 24 at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana and 12 at Ontario International Airport, the LA Times reported.
Aviation data analyst Cirium stated that Sunday was the worst day for flight cancellations since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Winter Storm Fern has now been linked to at least 30 deaths and has left hundreds of thousands of Americans without power, The Guardian reported.
KARRYON UNPACKS: : For Australian travel advisors, Fern shows how quickly inclement weather can reshape networks, policy and confidence, rewarding agents who plan buffers, know waiver fine print, and guide clients calmly through disruption globally.
